Meteor Mashed!
by Princess Rozeria
Summary: "Good afternoon! This is Lopunny, and you're listening to Wish Park FM! It's almost February 14, which means the long-awaited Meteor Mash-up is here! In this annual event, ten lucky boys and ten lucky girls will get randomly paired up! What will happen, you ask? Sparks will fly! (Hopefully!) Love is in the air! (Literally!) Come one, come all - let's Meteor Mash!"
1. Chapter 1

**~ Meteor Mashed! ~**

"Hey, Lopunny!"

"Lopunny, it's almost February 14. You gonna do the Mash-up thing again?"

"Lopunny, I can't wait for your annual Meteor Mash-up!"

...

* * *

To say that Lopunny is famous is probably an understatement.

In fact, the rabbit Pokémon is _the_ it-girl in Wish Park. She's gained considerable reputation as the star of Chandelure's Dance Inferno attraction with her slender body, long legs, and cute dance moves, but she's also known all throughout Wish Park as the Pokémon who runs Wish Park FM, the park's radio channel.

If you listen to Wish Park FM, you can get updates about the four attractions (Lopunny even has the attraction masters become commentators), catchy music chosen by Lopunny herself, and up-to-date news ("Ooh! Pansage of the Arbor Area has hit a new high score for the Cake Contraption attraction! Can any of you beat [insert high score here]? We await the best Cake Contraptors at the Cake Zone!")

However, the most-awaited event on Wish Park FM was the Meteor Mash-up, held every year on February 14.

In Lopunny's Meteor Mash-up, ten lucky boys and ten lucky girls get to be randomly paired up. The ten pairs are then supposed to spend time with each other. Some of them choose to just be ordinary friends, but some of the more dramatic ones (probably taken over by the lovey-dovey feeling of Valentine's Day) use it as an opportunity to meet "that special Pokémon".

Everything - the list of the participants and the result of the randomized pairing - is announced on the air. Pokémon from Wish Park, PokéPark, and even as far as Treasure Town and Pokémon Square take delight in listening about the Meteor Mash-up participants' misadventures (and mis-dates, anyway), especially when someone they know is participating. In short, the Meteor Mash-up is the most anticipated event to air on Wish Park FM.

Now, Lopunny was skipping into the Dance Zone of Wish Park. The random Pokémon that had greeted her was right - it was almost February 14, which means it was almost time to admit participants into the Meteor Mash-up. She decided that she would make the announcement on Wish Park FM today.

Once she had reached a back room in Chandelure's grand tent (which also served as the Wish Park FM radio station), she quickly went on the air.

»̶✽«̶

* * *

_A few days later  
__Treasure Town_

Siblings Roselio the Roselia and Darwynette "Darwin" the Roserade were sitting in their house listening to the radio when an announcement came on.

"Gooood afternoon, Pokémon! This is Lopunny, and you're listening to Wish Park FM! It's almost February 14 aka. Valentine's Day aka. The Day of Love aka. I'm Going to Meet That Special Someone, and you're in luck! Guess what's coming back on the air...!"

Roselio had actually already heard the announcement before - it had often been played these recent days - but it seemed as if his sister hadn't. Darwin turned up the volume.

"That's right, the Meteor Mash-up! It's what you've all been waiting for! After another year, it's finally here!"

Lopunny went on to explain the steps to apply to be a participant of the Meteor Mash-up.

Darwin snorted. "Another year, another Meteor Mash. I don't know what's so fun about meeting someone you've never met before in your life and attempting to get along with them."

Roselio shrugged. "Well, I get your point. My friend Emolga took part in it last year, and she got paired up with a hotheaded Scraggy. Instead of becoming friends with him, she and Scraggy totally got onto each other's nerves! Maybe it's a given, though - Emolga can be pretty annoying herself at times!"

"It's like they don't understand anything about how love works," Darwin said matter-of-factly in her usual know-it-all voice. "You can't force yourself to love someone, yeah? Most people meet their special friend accidentally, not because they took part in some randomized pairing event..."

As you can see, Darwin is Roselio's older sister. She's well into her teen years, and she's also your typical teenage girl: always stressed out, picky about appearance, thinks she knows a whole lot, and is always talking about Hypno, whom she claimed was her boyfriend. (Like I said before, her real name is actually Darwynette, but you call her that and she freaks out.)

Roselio, miraculously, is the well-mannered kind of younger brother, which is perhaps a rather rare species indeed. He's happy-go-lucky and doesn't seem to mind Darwin's big-sister-ish behavior.

Roselio nodded. He did believe that his sister was quite knowledgeable on the subject of love. After all, she was forever talking about her boyfriend, Hypno. He also understood - pretty well, in fact - that she didn't agree with the concept of the Meteor Mash-up. "That's not how real love works," she'd said.

However, he'd been thinking about it since the first time he heard the announcement. What he was going to tell his sister would surprise her, since she'd always thought they both didn't like the Meteor Mash-up idea.

He chuckled somewhat nervously. "Well, the Meteor Mash-up may sound silly for you, but I'm actually going to... You know..."

Darwin frowned at him. "What? You're going to _what?_ Spill it, younger bro."

"I'm going to participate in this year's Meteor Mash-up."

"You _what?!_" Darwin gasped. "You're going to _participate_ in the Meteor Mash-up?"

"Well, yeah." Her brother shrugged again. "I think it sounds fun. You don't have to go all romantic with whoever you get paired up with, of course. I just kinda like meeting new people and all."

"Humph." Darwin frowned. "Whatever. Do what you want, little bro. But I'm warning you, that's not how real love works."

»̶✽«̶

* * *

Roselio did all of Lopunny's steps to apply to participate in the Meteor Mash-up. He sent a form to the radio station at Wish Park's Dance Zone. He'd been talking about it with his friends, some of whom were participating in the event, too, including his best friends Froslass Yukimenoko and Staraptor Mukuhawk.

Today was the same. Roselio was talking with Froslass and Staraptor at his house when Darwin went in with a smug look on her face.

"Guess what," she said victoriously.

"What?" Staraptor asked with a sigh. Unlike Roselio, Staraptor usually found Darwin annoying and a know-it-all.

Darwin grinned a cat's grin.

"I'm participating in the Meteor Mash-up after all."

"Really?" Roselio asked. "I thought you didn't like it."

"That's right," Darwin agreed. "I don't like it... _unless Hypno's participating._"

"So you mean Hypno's participating too?"

"Well, yeah!" Darwin said gleefully. "I'd just known that today. Basically, I'm participating because Hypno is."

"Why? Isn't he your boyfriend, Darwin?" Roselio asked, puzzled. "If you want to spend time with him, why don't you just ask him out the traditional way?"

Darwin didn't answer - she was too busy fangirling. Roselio didn't know it, but Froslass knew that some teen girls already called their crushes their "boyfriend" even if it wasn't official yet. That was just how they were.

"Roselio's right," Staraptor said with a frown. "Why don't you just ask him out if you want to spend time with him? Why do you have to participate in the Meteor Mash-up? I mean, there are nine other guys you can get paired up with. Including me and Roselio."

Darwin did look pop-eyed for a moment considering the fact that she might have to spend time with her annoying brother or one of his annoying friends instead of her crush, but then her fangirling act came back. "I may, but then again, I may not." She sighed happily. "Don't you see? No, of course you don't, you're too small for matters of the heart like this. You see, me and Hypno are already written in the stars. We were meant to be together. That's why even Lopunny's randomizer is going to pair Hypno with me. Because we were meant to be. You'll see."

Rationality-loving Froslass found the explanation to be nonsense - written in the stars, indeed! - but she didn't say that aloud, of course.

"I am warning you in advance that the chance is actually pretty small," Froslass said. "There is a one-tenth chance of you getting paired up with Hypno. Just warning."

"Chance, shmance," Darwin huffed, then went up the wooden stairs to her room. Roselio, Staraptor, and Froslass heard an upstairs door slam.

Froslass turned to her two friends. "I hope she does not regret her actions later," was all she said.

Roselio shrugged helplessly. "Well, we can't do anything about that! Once my sister has an idea, not even a charging Tauros can stop her. Anyway, I heard that a lot of our friends are participating in the Meteor Mash-up also!"

"Yeah, like Breloom and Lombre and Treecko and Cleffy Clefairy," Staraptor said.

"And Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott," Froslass added, finally forgetting about Darwin and her one-in-a-tenth chance.

"Yeah!" Roselio may be a rose-shaped Pokémon, but at the moment he was like an excited golden retriever. "I wonder who the rest of the participants are?"

»̶✽«̶

* * *

_That very moment, in Wish Park_

Lopunny was leafing through the would-be participants' forms with a small smile. She'd already gotten 7 boys and 5 girls.

She only needed 8 more.

And then the fun can really begin.

She couldn't _wait_ to say with her usual but one-of-a-kind flair:

_Let's Meteor Mash!_

* * *

_Submit Your OC!_

_SYOC is open! I need 3 boys and 5 girls more to participate in Lopunny's Meteor Mash-up. Fill in the OC form below and please submit your OC via review (so I can keep track of the submissions in one place)._

**OC Form**

**Name:  
****Species:  
****Gender:  
****Personality:  
****Likes/hobbies:  
****Dislikes/pet peeves:  
****What I look for in that special someone:  
****Perks of dating me:**

_If your character gets selected, get ready to see them dive headfirst into the Meteor Mash-up! _

_Basically, what's going to happen is that the 10 boys and 10 girls will be randomized and paired up. Your character can get paired up with one of mine or another reader's character. Then I will write a chapter about each pairing. Of course, your character will probably not get the Pokémon of their dreams, but that's what makes Meteor Mash-up so... chaotic. ^^_

_So, I await your OCs! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to PM me._

_-Fujisaki Chihiro-_

* * *

_UPDATE: 19/02/2014_

_Thank you for everyone who has submitted their OCs! For those who haven't submitted, I'd like to announce that the slots for the boys have all been filled. I am only accepting girls now. Also, one person can only submit one character._

_Thank you!_

* * *

_UPDATE: 21/02/2014_

_I've already got 10 boys and 9 girls to participate in the Meteor Mash-up! That means the only slot available now is for one girl!_

_Once I've got all the characters, let the Meteor Mash-up begin! (Lopunny's getting quite impatient)._

* * *

_-FINAL UPDATE-_

_OK, I've now got 10 boys and 10 girls, which is exactly how many I'll need! SYOC is now closed! I'd like to thank everyone who submitted their character - we can finally get started! For your information, here are the participants!_

BOYS  
1) Breloom Kinogassa (mine)  
2) Treecko Kimori (mine)  
3) Oshawott Mijumaru (mine)  
4) Tepig Pokabu (mine!)  
5) Roselio de la Verde (mine!)  
6) Staraptor Mukuhawk (mine. yeah.)  
7) Hypno Silvertrance (you get the message)  
8) Nile the Riolu (from shadowssj12)  
9) Rem the Whimsicott (from AceScrawl)  
10) Gremlin Ombre the Sableye (from RadioactiveSableye)

GIRLS  
1) Lombre Raindish (mine)  
2) Cleffy Clefairy (mine)  
3) Snivy Tsutarja (mine!)  
4) Froslass Yukimenoko (mine!)  
5) Darwynette de la Verde (again!)  
6) Storm the Pikachu (from kitsunelover300)  
7) Lizzy the Flaaffy (from Pandawootwoot)  
8) Braixen Ter Una (from Volt Tackle)  
9) Tori the Gardevoir (from wolfgirl12390)  
10) Amelia the Umbreon (from Mizuki1-Kiruri13)

_(Hit it, Lopunny!)_

Lopunny: "Let's Meteor Mash~!"

_(Stay tuned on Wish Park FM!)_

_-Fujisaki Chihiro-_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Another thanks for those who submitted their characters! Finally, this is the real deal - let's see who got paired up with whom!_

* * *

**~ Meteor Mashed! ~**

_14 February  
__Dance Zone, Wish Park_

Darwynette stood with her brother Roselio in front of Chandelure's grand tent. They were also with Darwin's good friend Altaria Cottonspores, who had agreed to accompany Darwin to the Dance Zone even though she wasn't participating in the Meteor Mash-up.

"I don't see him," Darwin hissed after tossing a few discreet looks around.

"See whom?" Roselio asked.

"Duh? My _boyfriend?_" Darwin drawled in reply, looking around furtively again. "He's late. That's weird. He's never late before. Well, once he was, but he was only ten minutes late, and us high schoolers don't count that as _late_ late; we call that _fashionably_ late."

"Maybe he decided not to participate after all," Roselio said brightly, at which her sister glared.

"Shut up, are you trying to discourage me or what? Have you seen him, Altaria?"

Altaria looked around. She saw a no-nonsense looking Pikachu, her fur glowing with yellow electricity as if she was getting ready for battle. There was a nervous Flaaffy with her hands shoved deep in her fluffy fleece. There was a quiet Gardevoir reading a book, an elegant-looking Braixen, a Sableye standing off to one corner, and a Riolu chatting with an Umbreon.

"Nope, don't see him, Darwin," Altaria told her friend.

The Grass-type groaned. "Where is my boyfrieeend?"

Suddenly Roselio exclaimed, "There!"

Darwin jumped with surprise, her hands automatically flying to the white petals on her head to make sure they were tidy. "Where? Where?!"

"Huh?" Roselio turned to his sister. "Oh sorry, no, I didn't mean Hypno. I just saw my friend Breloom over there. Sorry. False alarm." He grinned in his usual happy-go-lucky manner before going off to talk to his friends.

The Roserade stared after him with a scowl. "False alarm indeed," she grumbled under her breath.

Kind-hearted Altaria put a soothing fluffy wing on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll be here," she reassured.

"He'd better be," Darwin snarled.

...

* * *

A lot of Roselio's friends were participating in the Meteor Mash-up. The particular group of friends he was walking to was from a rescue team called Team Overgrow. There was Breloom, the team's action-loving but stubborn leader; Treecko, the cool, calm, and collected team brains; sweet but shy Cleffy Clefairy; and tomboyish Lombre Raindish who loved adventure as much as a boy.

"Hello!" Roselio greeted them brightly when he got near.

"Hey!" Breloom exclaimed.

"_Hola,_" Lombre said in her mother tongue.

Treecko nodded. "Good morning."

Cleffy said, "Hello," and blushed.

"Are you excited to know who you're paired up with?" Roselio asked, practically brimming with excitement.

"No," Treecko said coldly in contrast to the Thorn Pokémon's excitement. "I didn't have a say in this at all. This was all Lombre's idea."

"And Cleffy's," Lombre added defiantly. Cleffy only blushed.

"I think this would be quite a fun experience, Treec," Breloom said. "We get to meet new people and stuff. When else do you get to meet people you've never imagined meeting before?"

Treecko frowned at his friend in a disapproving manner. "You forget, Breloom, that this is a randomized pairing event," the wood gecko said. "What if instead you get paired up with someone you've already met? What if I turn out to get paired up with Tsutarja? If that happens, I am sure we'd be doing nothing but argue."

The girl Treecko was referring to was Snivy Tsutarja, another of their friends. Although she was the princess of the Arbor Area in PokéPark, she preferred going on adventures over practicing royal mannerisms. She was also rather haughty and smug, but quick-witted. Due to the wood gecko's and the grass snake's similar traits, they constantly get on each other's nerves.

Roselio turned to Cleffy, who seemed to have the curious habit of blushing whenever he was around (but he never noticed that, thank goodness).

"What about you, Clef? Are you hoping to get paired up with someone in particular?"

"S-s-someone in p-particular?" she stammered, suddenly finding something really interesting to look at on the ground. "N-n-no, I'm like the others - I'm here to m-meet new p-people."

Roselio smiled at her. "Well, that's really nice," he said brightly. "Breloom's right - this is the perfect chance to meet new people."

Cleffy nodded. "Y-yeah. I g-guess so."

...

* * *

After Team Overgrow, Roselio saw Froslass and Staraptor standing with Snivy and her PokéPark friends.

There was Oshawott Mijumaru, Area Keeper Samurott's assistant. He likes to see himself as a great detective or an investigator, but that means he is also quick to get suspicious and loves making up the most ridiculous conspiracy theories.

The other was Tepig Pokabu of the Crag Area. You'd think that coming from the rugged and rocky terrain of PokéPark makes Tepig the rowdy tough-guy type, but he was actually a rather docile and soft-spoken Fire-type, although he does get really determined when it comes to serious matters and values honesty very highly.

"Hello!" Roselio greeted all of them.

Staraptor turned to him. "There you are, Ro!" he exclaimed. "We were wondering where you'd got to. I thought you decided to drop out or something."

"Drop out? Of course I didn't drop out."

"That is good to hear," Froslass replied smoothly. "We were talking about what kind of Pokémon we wish we would get paired up with."

Roselio shrugged. "Well, I'm actually OK with any Pokémon as long as she's nice to talk to."

"I'd like a Pokémon of a few words," Snivy said teasingly, "unlike a Sea Otter Pokémon I _do_ know who likes to talk. A _lot._"

"Well I want someone who isn't annoying," Oshawott retorted. "Unlike some grass snake we all know."

As you can see, Snivy and Oshawott are neck and neck when it comes to joking around. Both think the other is annoying.

"I'm OK with anyone as long as she's pretty," Staraptor said shortly. "I saw a Braixen earlier. Yeah, I want someone like her. Tall and... You know. Pretty."

At that, Froslass rolled her eyes. "I on the other hand would like someone knowledgeable," she said. "We can discuss science and technology and things that really matter."

Staraptor laughed. "Y'know, Fro, I think you could really do with a funny Pokémon," he joked. "I mean, to get your mind off "things that really matter" and have some fun for a change."

Froslass' mouth formed a tight grimace as she said, "No," but if anything, Staraptor only continued to laugh.

The only thing that managed to quiet him down was Lopunny's sudden shout.

"All right, Pokémon! This is what you've all been waiting for! I'm going to announce the pairings for the Meteor Mash-up! Let's hear some noise!"

* * *

...

Meanwhile, Darwin and Altaria were still looking all over for Hypno and not seeing him anywhere. He was still nowhere to be seen when Lopunny said that she was going to announce the pairings.

"I don't want to participate if Hypno doesn't!" Darwin complained as she and Altaria walked back to the front of Chandelure's tent where Lopunny was standing with a microphone. The Roserade had her gaze on the ground forlornly and was waving her arms about in indignance. In short, she wasn't looking where she was going. "I don't want to get paired up with one of Roselio's annoying friends!"

"Umm, Darwin-" Altaria started, but it was too late as Darwin was already slamming into someone's back.

"Hey, what're you doing in the middle of the-" Darwin started angrily, but then the angry look on her face was replaced by a silly smile and a blush when she finally saw who it was. "Err, I mean, sorry, Hypno~! That was entirely my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going~! Hehehehe!"

Hypno whirled and met Darwin's eyes. "Darwynette? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? I'm participating in the Meteor Mash-up, of course~! Ooh yees, I _love_ the Meteor Mash-up, it's a really good idea~! I didn't know you were also participating. Yeah. I didn't know that at all."

Altaria observed the stupid fan-girly look Darwin had on her face and couldn't help but pipe up with amusement, "Yeah, she didn't. At all."

However, by this time Darwin's face had taken on a radical change and she frowned.

"Oh, and by the way, Hypno, it's Darwin and _not_ Darwynette, thank you."

»̶✽«̶

After saying their "see you later"s to Hypno (and Darwin gushing "I hope you get paired up with someone nice!" before going away), Darwin and Altaria found themselves back in front of Lopunny. Altaria was still amused because the silly smile hadn't left Darwin's face.

"I told you he'd come," she said lightly. "Oh gosh, you can be so erratic when you're in front of Hypno, Darwin! One second you're a crazed fangirl, the next you're scolding him for calling you Darwynette. What's wrong with the name, anyway?"

"Nothing is wrong," Darwin said haughtily. "It just sounds like the name of some French queen from my history textbook who got beheaded."

Altaria was about to say something when Lopunny spoke into the microphone.

"All right, I'm going to announce the pairings right now! Keep your ears open, everyone!"

Darwin shot a smug look at her friend. "Now, Altaria, get ready to witness something that has been written in the stars unfold."

* * *

...

Lopunny looked down at the sheet of paper in her hands.

"OK, let's just start, shall we...!"

She paused dramatically. Altaria noticed that Darwin was tapping her toe impatiently, as if she couldn't wait to hear that she'd been paired up with Hypno. Altaria shook her head. She could only hope that if Darwin wasn't paired up with Hypno after all, she wouldn't be too disappointed. Like Froslass, Altaria knew that there wasn't such a thing as "written in the stars".

"Hmm, the first guy we have is Breloom Kinogassa! '_Perks of dating me: No one will ever hurt or even annoy you because they'd already eaten my fist before they could.'_ Ooooh, interestiiing, we have a Tough Guy here!" Lopunny looked down at her list and paused again for a dramatic effect. "OK, so Tough Guy Breloom will be paired up with... Braixen Ter Una! Ooh, she has a soft spot for anyone who has a lot of skills!"

Staraptor huffed in disappointment. "Aww man, that pretty Braixen's been taken!"

* * *

Pairing 1: Breloom x Braixen

* * *

Meanwhile, Lopunny looked as if she was excited herself. "And that's our first pairing, folks! And now... Moving on to the second one!

"Treecko Kimori! A lover of science and silence. Ooh, totally the brainy type, yeah? He's getting paired up with..."

Another dramatic silence. Darwin's toe-tapping intensified.

"Amelia the Umbreon! She loves to write... And she's good at singing! How very romantic~!"

* * *

Pairing 2: Treecko x Amelia

* * *

"Moving on... Ah, Oshawott Mijumaru, Area Keeper Samurott's young assistant! _'Perks of dating me: If you die, I can find your killer. I'm a detective.'_ Oooh, isn't that just convenient? Now, Oshawott will go with... Lizzy the Flaaffy! She likes to believe that she has good wool. I hope Oshawott thinks so, too~!"

* * *

Pairing 3: Oshawott x Lizzy

* * *

"OK, OK, crap, can't you go any _faster,_" Darwin mumbled under her breath.

Altaria looked at her with amusement. "Be patient!"

"Now, Staraptor Mukuhawk! He loves sports and aerial acrobats! Oh, he turns out to be the daring type! He'll get paired up with the soft-spoken Tori the Gardevoir, who loves to read and study. How interesting; the daring and the book-smart types! I wonder what will happen?"

* * *

Pairing 4: Staraptor x Tori

* * *

"What's gonna happen is me taking over the mic if you don't hurry up." Another impatient comment from Darwin.

Altaria laughed, but it wasn't just because of Darwin's impatience. It was also because she heard Staraptor say from somewhere behind her, "Oh, maybe not the Braixen, but Gardevoir are pretty, too. Yeah. I like that."

_Well. At least someone's having fun,_ Altaria thought.

"Roselio de la Verde! Oh, French family name, eh? How romantic! He loves Spinda's smoothies, friendly chats, and... What's this? Red bowties?"

Darwin slapped her forehead. "I can't believe that silly brother of mine actually put that down."

"...He'll get paired up with Storm the Pikachu, a tough-girl type who loves battling!"

Darwin burst out laughing. "That settles it - he's gonna have his butt kicked for sure."

* * *

Pairing 5: Roselio x Storm

* * *

Lopunny went on, "OK, now we have Nile the Riolu! He claims to have the 'devil-may-care' attitude, so he's a totally laid-back guy. He's getting paired up with... Cleffy Clefairy! She has a talent in cooking and medicine, and loves people who listen well!"

* * *

Pairing 6: Nile x Cleffy

* * *

"Next we have Gremlin Ombre the Sableye! Hmm... He seems to be quite the joker type! He loves comedy and making others laugh! He's getting paired up with Froslass Yukimenoko, scientist and a believer in rationality! That's quite the polar opposites - but then again, _any_ pairing will work if both put their all into it~! First impressions are especially important~!"

"Come on, come on." Darwin was back to being impatient.

* * *

Pairing 7: Gremlin x Froslass

* * *

"Rem the Whimsicott! He loves competition and, get this: he's looking for a rival! Wow~! That's unusual~! However, he also loves the violin, and philosophy, and cooking! And that's even _more_ unusual~! He'll be paired up with Lombre Raindish, a tomboy who loves electric guitars, combat boots, and cooking Mexican dishes! Heheheh, I can already imagine them cooking stuff together~"

* * *

Pairing 8: Rem x Lombre

* * *

"Come on." Darwin had to hold back her vine whips from shooting out and grabbing Lopunny's microphone. "Say it, Lopunny. Say it already!"

Altaria glanced sideways at her friend. There were only four Pokémon left: Darwin herself, Hypno, Snivy, and Tepig. It could go either way.

_There's no such thing as "written in the stars",_ she thought. _I hope she won't be too disappointed..._

Lopunny continued, "OK! Another one with a French family name! Darwynette de la Verde-"

At the mention of her name, Darwin jerked her head up. "Finally," she cried out.

"She's getting paired up with...!"

Darwin turned to Altaria with a smug look. "Wait for it... _Wait for it..._"

"Tepig Pokabu!"

"See...!" Darwin started to say victoriously...

...When she seemed to crumble like an ancient artifact left to disintegrate in the wind.

"Wait. _What?_" Her mouth was hanging open, very un-French-last-name-like.

* * *

Pairing 9: Tepig x Darwin

* * *

Altaria could only pat her friend's shoulder awkwardly as Lopunny went on, "And that leaves Hypno Silvertrance, hypnotizing extraordinaire, with Snivy Tsutarja, the adventurer princess of the Arbor Area~!"

* * *

Pairing 10: Hypno x Snivy

* * *

Lopunny put down her paper, took a deep breath (it's understandable, she's been chattering on and on) and finally exclaimed with her usual but one-of-a-kind flair:

"Let's Meteor Mash!"

...

* * *

_Author's Note: ...And there we have it! The pairings for the Meteor Mash-up! I'll begin writing their adventures (and misadventures) together in the next chapters! Stay tuned on Wish Park FM, everyone!_

_(...Anyway, poor Darwin. I guess that's what you get for being such a pain.)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: And here we finally start the action. I know I said I'd put each pairing in a separate chapter, but I finally decided to write a little bit about each pairing in every chapter. It keeps the suspense going._

_Enough of my chattering. Here we go._

* * *

**~ Meteor Mashed! ~**

The truth had finally sunk in: Darwin wasn't paired up with Hypno.

And unfortunately, the Roserade couldn't do anything about that. What has been done cannot be reversed, so she could only stand and think over and over again, "No no no I don't want to be with Tepig!"

When Lopunny told everyone to go and find their partners, Darwin didn't move.

That meant Tepig Pokabu had to go and get her.

Tepig, Darwin found, was a timid Pokémon. Starting from the moment he walked towards her, he seemed to have already found Darwin's tight expression intimidating. It wasn't hard for the fire pig to see that Darwin wasn't really enthusiastic to get paired up with him.

However, being the stalwart Tepig Pokabu, he knew that he at least had to try. Someone or the other was going to have to start a small conversation sooner or later, and since it was obvious that Darwin wasn't, he was going to have to be the one who did it.

"Umm, hello, you're Darwynette, right?" he said awkwardly once he had reached the grumpy-looking Roserade, shuffling his orange hooves. "I... I'm Tepig."

Zero points for poor Tepig.

Although the fire pig often talks with Roselio, the Thorn Pokémon had never told him the fundamental rule when it comes to interacting with sister Darwynette de la Verde.

Darwin's face instantly clouded like the sky before a raging thunderstorm.

"_Do not call me Darwynette._" She scowled, and her scowl was a particularly bitter-looking one, indeed.

* * *

_Ouch. Pairing 9: Tepig x Darwin isn't going well at all._

* * *

Speaking of thunderstorms, Roselio had to go and meet a Pikachu named Storm. Luckily, it wasn't hard at all to find her - he only had to follow the yellow light of electricity to where she was standing. She was the Pokémon Altaria had seen earlier who looked as if she was getting ready to battle.

Roselio walked over to her, smiling a signature Roselio smile.

"Hello!"

Storm looked up. "Oh, hello. You must be Roselio de la Verde."

"Yeah, that's me! Nice to meet you!" He stuck out his red rose.

"I'm Storm," the Pikachu said seriously. "Nice to meet you too."

She actually couldn't figure out what to do with his hand, since she couldn't really shake his rose petals. It would be ridiculous, and besides, Storm had battled enough Roselia to know that they didn't like having their roses messed up. In the end, she took the base of his flower. OK, so it was the equivalence of shaking someone's wrist, but it was better than pissing off someone she was supposed to spend time with.

As for the Thorn Pokémon, he may not show it but he felt a tiny jolt of electricity when she shook his hand.

_Yikes,_ he thought. _How no-nonsense. She's almost as serious as Treecko._

"Anyway, I like your name," Storm went on, though she never lost her no-nonsensical air about her. "Lopunny said it was French. Can you speak the language or something?"

"Well. _Oui._"

"Is that a yes? Try saying something, then."

Roselio laughed. "I just did."

Storm rolled her eyes. "Come on."

"OK, OK." Roselio gave in. Then he said with surprising (few Pokémon could speak more than one language) fluency, "_Je voudrais aller aux toilettes._"

Storm stared at him. "Which means?"

"I want to go to the toilet." The smile on his face was annoying. Annoying but mischievous. Storm couldn't decide whether to roll her eyes and tell him to be serious or laugh.

She apparently chose the latter.

"Well, that was very _sophisticated,_" she joked sarcastically. "Yes, very sophisticated of you."

"Why, _merci beaucoup,_" he replied, the smile still there.

Storm thought, _Wow, what a happy-go-lucky Pokémon. All smiley faces._

"Lopunny said you liked battling," the Thorn Pokémon said suddenly.

"Yes," Storm replied. She was very pleased he had brought this subject up. This was the topic she was most passionate about. "Do you battle, Roselio?"

His answer surprised - but delighted - her.

"Yeah, actually, I do!"

If Storm was pleased earlier, now she was really, really pleased. Roselio may like friendly chats, but she liked something more action-packed. Like a battle.

Although she was usually known as aggressive and no-nonsense, Storm couldn't help but smile, very slowly.

* * *

_Lopunny is going to have to keep an eye on Pairing 5: Roselio x Storm. Otherwise it could get pretty messy._

* * *

Cleffy Clefairy, meanwhile, was stuck in her own mind. She was standing in the midst of the confusion, wondering if she should go and look for this Riolu called Nile or to stay put and wait for him to find her.

_I'm beginning to feel I've been pretty foolish,_ she despaired. _Why did I ever think I'd get paired up with him and not someone among the other nine? Froslass would probably have said that the chance of my ending up with him was actually pretty small. Smart, Cleffy, smart._

She also knew that she wasn't good at these social things at all. She was just too shy. She stammered even when she was talking to her teammates in Team Overgrow. She would be even more of a wreck talking to someone she had just met.

_Nile the Riolu, whoever he is, is going to have a lousy girl to spend time with,_ she thought. _A girl named Cleffy Clefairy, who's going to stammer and blush and never actually say anything. He'll have participated in this Meteor Mash-up for nothing, because the only thing he's going to do is try to tolerate the nervous wreck in front of him. And it'll be all my fault._

She saw that all her teammates were on the move. Breloom was walking towards Braixen. Treecko was walking towards Amelia. However, she didn't see Lombre anywhere.

Suddenly she felt someone tap her shoulder. _Nile!_ She whirled with a forced smile pasted on her face, thinking, _Oh, no, the nightmare starts now._

However, it wasn't Nile. It was Lombre.

"_¡Ay caramba!_" her teammate exclaimed indignantly, clomping about in her combat boots. "Where's this Whimsicott guy? I haven't seen him anywhere. _Callate,_ d'you think he's chickened out?"

Cleffy felt a wave of relief crash over her. She dropped her stupid smile.

"L-L-Lombre! I'm g-glad it's y-you!"

"Well, of course it's me," Lombre said matter-of-factly. "Who else could it have been?"

"I thought y-you were Nile..." Cleffy bowed her head.

Lombre took one look at her friend and understood everything. She'd been friends with Cleffy for so long, and even though they were as different as night and day, they always knew how the other was feeling. Right now was the same - with just that one look, Lombre knew what Cleffy was worrying about.

"Ay-ay-ay," she said, putting an arm around Cleffy's shoulders and shaking her gently. "Don't fret, _mi amiga._ You'll do OK, I'm sure of it. You know how the song goes: 'Hold on loosely, but don't let go'? Don't worry so; just be yourself. Nile's gonna love having been paired up with you."

Cleffy blew out a long sigh. "I-I know," she said quietly. "Hold on loosely. D-don't let go. You're right, Lombre, I p-probably shouldn't w-worry too much. If I worry, I'll be even m-more of a wreck. I hope you're right that I d-don't mess up."

Lombre grinned and punched her shoulder lightly. "That's the spirit, Clefpud!" She added as a matter of fact, "And of course I'm right. I'm _always_ right."

If Lombre had a fault, it was that she wasn't really modest.

Cleffy smiled shyly. "Th-thank you, Lombre. A-and I hope your Whimsicott shows up soon, I'll r-really feel b-bad for you if he d-d-doesn't show up at all."

"_De nada,_" Lombre said, and then her face turned serious. "And yeah, he'd _better_ show up."

Suddenly there was another tap on Cleffy's shoulder. Cleffy whirled around again. She immediately regretted not having armed herself with a fake pasted-on smile because this time it really _was_ Nile the Riolu.

Cleffy blushed. "O-oh. Sorry. I m-mean, h-hello. U-um..."

She wanted to berate herself for having stammered, but it seemed as if Nile hadn't even heard her. The Dance Zone was so loud, so of course Cleffy's unconfident, inaudible voice got lost in the chaos.

Nile smiled at her. Somehow, that smile sort of reassured Cleffy. "You're Cleffy Clefairy, right?" he said. His voice was a trifle bit louder than Cleffy's.

Cleffy only nodded. She didn't even try to speak - she knew he wouldn't be able to hear her for her voice always annoyingly goes quieter every time she was nervous or shy. Well, of course, another reason was that she was also tongue-tied.

Although he was a Fighting-type, Cleffy liked the look on his face; it was friendly and soothing, as if she would always feel safe around someone like him. Or maybe it was because he was a Fighting-type; she surmised he was a good fighter.

Lombre gave her arm a meaningful squeeze, then turned to the both of them. "Well, looks like I'd better leave you two alone," she said. "Have fun~!"

She left... And Cleffy was alone with Nile.

Cleffy didn't dare look at the Fighting-type, so she kept her gaze on the ground. Nile, meanwhile, was looking around, squinting at the noisy chaos. He turned back to Cleffy.

"Hey, want to go somewhere quieter?"

Cleffy's whole face went fire engine red. Yes, if they went somewhere not as loud, he would be able to hear her tiny voice. Then she might actually pluck up enough courage to strike up a conversation.

_Hold on loosely, but don't let go._

Smiling shyly up at him, she whispered gratefully, "O-okay." Then, remembering that he might not hear her, she nodded. Just in case.

* * *

_"Hey, want to go somewhere quieter?" Nice one! Pairing 6: Nile x Cleffy seems to be going well. But maybe it would be even better if Cleffy would actually start _talking.

_And as for Pairing 8: Rem x Lombre... Nothing's happened yet. Hmm.__ Where could Rem the Whimsicott be?_

* * *

Meanwhile, high up from the air, Staraptor had spotted a Gardevoir seated on a bench in front of Chandelure's tent. She was still reading a book.

Staraptor landed a few paces away from the Psychic-type. He didn't want to disturb her from her reading.

That, and he actually wanted to... "observe" her first.

Tori was a pretty Pokémon. She had short bright green hair and snow-white skin. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that reached her ankles. A pair of reading glasses was perched upon her dainty nose. The book she was reading seemed to be about advanced physics.

_OK,_ Staraptor thought. _So she's a smarty, like Fro. Good Arceus, she's pretty._

He slowly went over to her. "Hey."

_Yikes, Staraptor!_ he chastised himself inwardly. _Just "hey"?_

Tori looked up from her book. "Oh. Hello." She rose, closing the book and tucking it under one arm. The hem of her white dress flowed around her ankles.

"Hey. I'm Staraptor Mukuhawk, but you can call me Staraptor." He groaned inwardly again. _Another "hey"._

She nodded her head. "My name is Tori. It's nice meeting you, Staraptor."

Staraptor was racking his brains. What should he say next to this beautiful Pokémon in front of him?

"Uh... I see you like physics, Tori?"

Tori's tranquil face lit up with a smile, and Staraptor felt relieved. It was obviously the right thing to say.

"Why, yes," she said, the smile never leaving her face. Then she went on to enthusiastically explain why physics was really fascinating, which Staraptor actually didn't listen to at all. He was too busy staring at her as she explained about hydrostatic pressure and the laws of Newton and Carnot machines and why they were so damn fun to study.

Finally, she turned the question back to him as she said, "And what about you? What do _you_ like to do, Staraptor?"

"Huh, me?" Staraptor was snapped out of his reverie. "Uhh, I love flying and aerial acrobats."

"Really?" Tori was grinning. "Did you know that air is considered a dynamic fluid as well, thus when you're flying, you're actually applying the principle of dynamic fluids? The higher the pressure, the lower the velocity, and vice versa. Since you're an avid flyer, I suppose you _have_ heard of it, right?"

"Uh, yes, I think so." If he wasn't mistaken, he'd once heard Froslass say something like that. It wasn't as if he cared, though. He didn't care about pressure and velocity - he was good at flying and that was all that mattered. He continued, "But hey, I love the actual flying more than the theoretical side of flying."

_Actual flying._

Suddenly he got an idea.

When he turned to Tori, his face was surprisingly sincere. If Roselio and Froslass were there, they wouldn't have believed their eyes.

"Tori, would you care to join me on an aerial tour of Wish Park?"

* * *

_Oooh! If Lopunny were there, she would definitely have squealed. It seems as if Pairing 4: Staraptor x Tori is off to a high-flying start!_

* * *

Treecko had by now found Amelia the Umbreon. He actually wasn't enthusiastic in participating in the Meteor Mash-up, but he had to cooperate since he was already deep in it now. Amelia was staring at nothing, so of course she was surprised when Treecko greeted her.

"Good afternoon."

The Umbreon jumped and whirled around. "Oh, hello. Good afternoon to you too."

The Wood Gecko Pokémon stuck out his hand. "I am Treecko. Treecko Kimori."

Amelia shook his hand. "I'm Amelia. Nice to meet you, Treecko."

"I apologize for having surprised you earlier," Treecko went on seriously.

Amelia smiled a small smile. "No, it's all right," she said. "It was me, anyway. I was staring off."

"Staring off? Why? Is something bothering you?"

Treecko held back his tongue. Why did he say that; Amelia could think he was poking into other people's business.

"Oh, no, not that," Amelia quickly said. "I was singing a little song I made."

"Oh?" Treecko stared at her. "You like to make songs? That is none short on impressive."

Amelia blushed good-naturedly. "Yeah, I like to write songs. I sing, too, of course."

"Mm-hmm. So you are the musical kind of Umbreon. I... Um, you know." The wood gecko broke off and cleared his throat instead.

Amelia tilted her head to one side. "Huh? You what?"

Suddenly Treecko's face looked more red than green. However, the only thing he did was clear his throat again.

"Sorry, it was nothing," he said.

Amelia nodded, although she was weirded out. She had no choice but to change the subject.

"Do you mind going somewhere not as loud? All this noise is making my head spin," she said.

The wood gecko nodded. "Of course. Where would you like to go?"

Amelia thought for a moment. Hmm. She liked a good chat with cake and tea, so maybe...

"How about the Cake Zone?" she suggested.

"Agreed," Treecko said.

They started walking towards the Cake Zone part of Wish Park. Both Pokémon were quiet, so the walk was filled with silence.

However, Treecko realized that if you listened hard enough, you could hear that Amelia was singing softly.

"_Blue moon floating, blue seas sparkling. You emerge from a little egg, by the ocean. Sandy beach, Manaphy, and I. Krabby singing, Wingull winging. Sandy beach, Manaphy, and I. This is Manaphy's little lullaby._"

Treecko had never heard that song before. It must be one of those Amelia had made herself.

He swallowed. Amelia's voice was nice, and she really was good at singing.

The calm, cool, and clever wood gecko thought he detected a foreign feeling.

He felt like... singing along.

To Manaphy's little lullaby.

* * *

_Stay tuned on Wish Park FM, everyone, Lopunny would have said. Something tells me that Pairing 2: Treecko x Amelia is something worth keeping an eye on._

* * *

_Author's Note: Double update! I was actually planning to put Chapters 3 and 4 in a same chapter, but it ended up really long, bypassing the 4000-word count. So I've decided to put them in separate chapters. I don't know about you, but I don't really like super-long chapters. So if your character's pairing hasn't been written about yet, it's in the next chapter.__ Chapter 4 is coming right up!_


	4. Chapter 4

**~ Meteor Mashed! ~**

...

By the time Oshawott had spotted Lizzy the Flaaffy, he'd had his "cool" act ready.

He strolled in front of her, pretending to not see her. Of course it was Lizzy who "saw" him first.

"U-uh, hello over there," she called, hurrying over to him. "Um, y-you're Oshawott, aren't you?"

Oshawott finally stopped and acted as if he'd just seen her. "Oh, hi. Yes, I'm Oshawott. Are you Lizzy?"

The Flaaffy nodded.

"Well then, I guess I'm going to have to spend time with you," Oshawott went on in an oh-so-you're-the-lucky-one voice. There was a wide smile on his face.

Lizzy just nodded again. She seemed to not know what to say. She only kept her hands shoved deep in her fleece.

Oshawott's smile sort of disappeared and he simply stared at her. _What a quiet Pokémon,_ he thought.

"D'you know where you want to go?" he asked. "D'you have any idea what we should do?"

"Uh... I don't know. Up to you," Lizzy said awkwardly.

Oshawott put on his detective face. "Hrumm, let's see. Ah, let's go to the Beach Cove!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers detective-style. "Area Keeper Samurott's going to love meeting you. Of course, he _always_ loves meeting whoever I bring there since I'm his assistant, see."

He paused and cleared his throat coolly. "That is, if you _want_ to go to the Beach Cove. A good gentleman always asks the ladies if they're willing to go somewhere; they don't decide everything for themselves, you know," he said, his smooth operator act coming back.

Lizzy nodded yet again, an awkward smile coming to her face. "OK, that sounds nice," she said softly.

And that was how they left for the Beach Cove, with Oshawott chattering about how Lizzy was going to see how good he was at beach soccer. Like Lombre, Oshawott unfortunately wasn't that modest either.

* * *

_Pairing 3: Oshawott x Lizzy seems to be going moderately well, Lopunny would have thought. After she rolled her eyes at Oshawott's antics, of course._

* * *

As Gremlin Ombre the Sableye weaved his way between the many Pokémon standing in front of Chandelure's tent, his mind was filled with thoughts.

_Froslass Yukimenoko,_ he thought. _A scientist. Huh, she must be some kind of smart. No, she has to be really brainy. All scientists are brainy._

Gremlin couldn't help but feel nervous. _What if she doesn't enjoy talking with me? I know next to nothing about science._

What was the other thing Lopunny mentioned? She was a believer of rationality? That was another thing about Froslass Yukimenoko that was the exact opposite of him. Gremlin was not a believer in rationality. He just liked to joke around.

_She must also be really serious,_ he thought. _She must be that kind of person who calculates her chances of getting paired up with a certain someone before participating in the Meteor Mash-up. She'd probably say that it was only a one-tenth of a chance. And she'd say it without her face expression changing one bit._

Yet another different thing between them.

Now Gremlin was positively nervous. He was all about making people happy - that was what laughter was for, right? - but this time he wasn't sure of himself at all.

That was how he crashed into a full-on snowstorm.

It was something freezing cold, and he crashed hard into it, too - he was left staggering back and shaking his bumped head.

It was only when the stars had cleared that he finally saw what he'd crashed into.

Or rather, _who._

A snow-white Pokémon was hovering in front of him. She had cold pale blue eyes and delicate snow crystals decorating her head. She had long trailing sleeves like that of a kimono, and they were white with pale blue patterns on it. She wore a red ribbon around her slim waist. Although her face was pretty, it showed no trace of emotion at all.

Enter Froslass Yukimenoko, scientist and a believer in rationality.

She was a little bent down since she was taller than he. The pale blue eyes were staring at him, and Gremlin detected the tiniest hint of sympathy in it.

"Are you all right?" she asked, her voice smooth. "Please forgive me; I was not watching where I was going."

Gremlin quickly brushed it off with a laugh. "No, no, no! Please don't apologize! It was my fault!"

Froslass Yukimenoko didn't help him up, so Gremlin jumped up by himself, still chuckling. "Uhh, anyway, the name's Gremlin Ombre!" He smiled the sunniest smile a Sableye could manage.

"My name is just Froslass," she replied with a tiny nod. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Gremlin grinned at her. "Nice to meet you too, Just Froslass!" he said.

There was silence for a few awkward seconds.

"I am afraid you misunderstand," Froslass finally said, her cheeks getting tinged pink. "My name is Froslass. Just Froslass. Froslass Yukimenoko. I was meaning to say I do not have a nickname. I did not mean my name was actually 'Just Froslass'..."

"I knew that. I was... Joking." The Sableye gave a few feeble chuckles. _Oops, I think I'm failing fast,_ he thought. _I should have known that scientists don't understand jokes._

However, he thought he saw something else. Gremlin may be mistaken, but he thought he detected the tiniest traces of laugh lines appearing on Froslass' face.

"Of course you were," she said with a tiny, unfathomable smile.

It was only a tiny single smile, but to Gremlin's hopeful relief, it might just be a start.

* * *

_Pairing 7: Gremlin x Froslass; two Pokémon as different as ebony and ivory. However, is it illogical of Lopunny to think that this pairing might actually end up somewhere?_

* * *

Braixen Ter Una was wondering why she was here. If she wasn't mistaken, her participating in the Meteor Mash-up wasn't her idea in the first place. Maybe one of her friends pushed her to do it? Hmm. She didn't remember _that_ happening. Or maybe she'd inadvertently signed up only to forget it later? That doesn't sound right, either. Although she admitted herself that she was most of the time naïve and childish, she wasn't _that_ forgetful, either.

Well. Whatever had happened, she was here now, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She was surprised by a voice.

"Heya! I guess you're Braixen Ter Una?"

Braixen quickly turned around and saw a Grass-type Pokémon with a mushroom-shaped cap on his head. He was bouncing on the spot. He seemed like a really hyper Pokémon, which rather intimidated Braixen. She'd been hoping to get a quieter Pokémon.

"Yes, I am, but just call me Braixen," Braixen said. "And you're...?"

"I'm Breloom. Breloom Kinogassa, nice to meet ya." He stuck out one of his stretchy arms. Braixen shook it.

Then the Fire-type spoke again. "Random subject change; was it your idea to participate in the Meteor Mash-up?"

"Huh? Well, not really." Breloom shrugged. "At first this was my friends Lombre's and Cleffy's idea. But then I sort of agreed, since it's not so bad to meet new people and stuff, ya know?"

"Hmm," Braixen said shortly.

"What's wrong? Did ya not participate because ya wanted to?"

"That's just the problem," Braixen said. "These events aren't actually my thing, really. I don't even remember how I ended up here anyway."

"Huh." Breloom didn't seem to know what to say.

"Sorry, that was random." Braixen shook her head. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Dunno. Up to you, I guess. What d'you wanna do?"

"Uh..." Braixen racked her brains. Looking at Chandelure's grand tent gave her an idea. "Um, how about participating in Chandelure's Dance Inferno?"

"What?" Breloom's bouncing intensified. "I ain't gonna dance! I'll do anything, anything but dance."

Braixen pouted - she did admit she was rather childish - and said, "Well, you _did_ say 'up to you'..."

"Basically, 'up to you' as long as it doesn't involve dancing." Breloom frowned as he thought. Not so long after, his face brightened. "Hey, wanna play Haxorus' Power Bash?"

"Power Bash?" Braixen pouted even more. "But that's so _rowdy!_"

"Well, then, wanna play Sigilyph's Flight of Fancy?"

Flight of Fancy? Braixen had never played Flight of Fancy, but the name appalled to her. It sounded way more girl-ish than Power Bash.

"OK," she agreed.

As soon as she said that, Breloom burst out laughing.

"I was only joking," he chuckled. "I can't fly. And neither can you. Remember?"

Huh. Braixen sometimes really hated her naïve trait. She could never know when someone was kidding and when they were being serious. She pouted again, and fortunately, Breloom seemed to take the hint.

"Sorry, sorry. Uh. How about Cofagrigus' Cake Contraption, then?"

"No!" Braixen sounded horrified. "I don't like cake. It makes me fat!"

Breloom smirked as if he was thinking something around the lines of "girls will be girls". "Well then, what shall we do?"

Braixen pouted, then finally sighed. "Ugh, OK, we'll play your Power Bash."

"Really? You'll really do it?"

"Yeah. As long as you don't pull tricks on me again."

"It's a deal!" The Mushroom Pokémon's bouncing got even more enthusiastic, if that was possible.

"Come on!" He suddenly grabbed her hand and started bouncing to the exit of the Dance Zone with her in tow.

"Whoa, wait!" Braixen cried, stumbling after him. "Gaah, you're messing up my fur! Breloom! Slow down!"

"Sorry!" he called back, and he did slow down.

A little bit.

* * *

_Lopunny shakes her head with a smile as she watches Pairing 1: Breloom x Braixen bounce out of the Dance Zone. Good luck, __dear __Braixen, she thinks. And for Arceus' sake - slow down, Breloom!_

* * *

Hypno and Snivy were by now walking in the direction of the Arbor Area in PokéPark. Like Nile and Cleffy, they were going to go somewhere quieter.

They were talking about Snivy's days being a princess.

"I wonder how it feels to be royalty," Hypno mused, fingering his pendulum.

"Trust me, it sucks," Snivy said matter-of-factly. "I'd rather go on adventures than stay put doing nothing except watching everyone do their daily jobs."

Hypno turned to her. "But you _do_ go on adventures, do you?"

"Well, fortunately, yeah," Snivy replied. "Luckily my mother still lets me do stuff with Oshawott and Tepig, and sometimes Timburr of the Tech Area. Otherwise, it'd be a nightmare."

"I understand."

"Speaking of adventures, we had a really big one some time ago," Snivy went on haughtily. "It had to do with Darkrai and this very Wish Park."

"Really? Darkrai, the legendary Pokémon of darkness?" Hypno's interest was piqued.

"Yeah. The _tough _legendary Pokémon of darkness." Snivy couldn't help herself.

Hypno's eyes widened. He seemed really interested in Snivy's tale.

"Tell me more," he said, staring at the victorious grass snake.

* * *

_Well. It's a good thing Darwin didn't see Hypno's interaction with Snivy, or she would totally have freaked out at Hypno's obvious interest in Snivy's adventures. Pairing 10: Hypno x Snivy is moving forward... And the grass snake is in the lead._

* * *

_Author's Note: And that's the kick-start of every pairing! (That is, except Pairing 8: Rem x Lombre, but that's because I've got "other ideas" for it, so please bear with me! I'll keep the goods coming! ^^) I also hope I've gotten the submitted characters right..._

_Also, I know that you don't need to be able to fly to play Flight of Fancy, but let's just... pretend you do._

_Hmm. I wonder what Darwin's going to do about that current situation, indeed._

_Stay tuned on Wish Park FM, everyone!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Ta-daa! Finally, the next chapter! Sorry this one took long, but at least it was finally done with the help of some Avenged Sevenfold songs. Anyway, since the pairings are all getting together, there's going to be a lot going on, so this time will be a triple update! *waves red and blue roses*_

_Update #1: Oshawott x Lizzy, Rem x Lombre, Hypno x Snivy, Breloom x Braixen._

* * *

**~ Meteor Mashed! ~**

Oshawott and Lizzy finally reached the Beach Cove.

"...And that's how I defeated Timburr's team just within minutes of the full time," Oshawott was saying. "The Tech Area guys are good, you know. Instead of kicking the ball, they hit it with their squared logs. You can imagine how powerful their shots are... But as you can see, my team won nevertheless."

"U-um... That's... Great?"

"Of course it was great!" Oshawott boasted. "OK, so maybe Tepig _did_ score two goals with his Heat Crash attack, and Snivy even scored three, but I was the one who scored the last goal when our scores were even. So I was the one who snagged the victory, you know what I mean?"

"Uh, that's, um, great, Oshawott." Lizzy buried her hands deeper into her fleece.

"I suppose it is." Oshawott smiled smugly. "Anyway, here we are! Welcome to our beautiful Beach Cove!" He waved his hands commercial-style.

However, after Lizzy had taken a good look at the panorama, she had to agree that Oshawott was right. The beach was of the most beautiful golden-brown sand she had ever seen, and lazy azure waves lapped at the shore. Further inland, there were groves of palm trees and little shrubbery. There was a tall rambling lighthouse and a wooden boardwalk extending out to sea. She could see Alomomola swimming about lazily, Wingull flying over the beach, and a group of dancing Maractus.

"Come on, we'll go meet Area Keeper Samurott," Oshawott said, walking towards the lighthouse. Lizzy followed him.

Samurott turned out to be a dark blue otter Pokémon with a white beard. Oshawott introduced Lizzy to him, and she stammered an awkward greeting. She thought Samurott would be severe, but he turned out to be very pleasant as he greeted her back.

"Lizzy's going to watch me play beach soccer," Oshawott announced proudly.

Despite his rugged appearance, laugh lines creased Samurott's face.

"Oh, beach soccer? You mean the sport in which you ran right into Drifblim's wooden sign when you were playing against the Tech Area team, Oshawott?"

"Area Keeper!" cried Oshawott with a blush as Lizzy let out an awkward laugh.

...

After a few more minutes chatting with Samurott, Oshawott took Lizzy back to the beach. Timburr and his friends from the Tech Area were already there, playing around with the ball.

"Hey, Oshawott!" Timburr exclaimed, running over. "Come to play?"

"Yeah!" Oshawott answered. "And I'm gonna beat you again."

"We'll see about that," Timburr smirked. Then he noticed Lizzy. "Oh, who's this?" That was when he remembered that Oshawott was participating in the Meteor Mash-up. "Oh! Is this your Meteor Mash-up friend?"

"Yeah. Timburr, meet Lizzy," Oshawott replied. "And Lizzy, this is my friend Timburr. He's one of those whom I beat at beach soccer."

"But that won't happen again." Timburr rolled his eyes. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Lizzy. Hey, why don't you join us?"

"P-play b-b-beach soccer?" gaped Lizzy.

"That's a good idea!" Oshawott beamed at her. "Yeah, do play with us!"

"B-b-but I thought I was just g-going to watch. And I'm not good at sports," Lizzy protested, but it was futile.

Oshawott laughed. "Watch? Where's the fun in _that?_ And whether you're good or not doesn't matter." He snickered at Timburr. "As long as you've got me in the team, we won't lose!"

* * *

_Pairing 3: Oshawott x Lizzy seems to be coming along pretty well (when we ignore the fact that Oshawott has abandoned his own "a gentleman always asks the ladies if they're willing to do something" rule, of course)._

_Can Lizzy survive beach soccer, or will she run into any wooden signs?_

_Lopunny says the way she has said to Braixen earlier, "Good luck, dear Lizzy!"_

* * *

...

Leaving Oshawott and Lizzy in the Beach Cove, we return to Wish Park's Dance Zone and zoom in on a Whimsicott who was jumping out of the poster portal that connects PokéPark and Wish Park and landed on the ground inelegantly.

"Dear Arceus," he grumbled.

He quickly picked himself up and ran towards Chandelure's big tent breathlessly.

"Crud... Huff, puff... Crud. Gotta go faster... Huff... Puff... Wheeze..."

He was extremely late...

And extremely annoyed.

He remembered how he had been listening to the radio back at home in the Pokémon Square when an announcement came on and said that he was one of the participants of the Meteor Mash-up.

Well. All that sounds normal, right?

Yes, all that _would_ sound normal if Rem the Whimsicott had actually signed up for the Meteor Mash-up.

Which he had not.

The next second the phone had rung, and after recovering from his shock, he had picked it up. It turned out that one of his friends was on the other end of the line.

"Go for it, man," was all he'd said, punctuated with held-back chuckles, and that was when Rem finally understood.

"You signed me up!"

...

And that was the tragic story that ended with him running breathlessly in the Dance Zone instead of playing video games at his house. Even worse, he was supposed to meet a _girl._

Rem promised he would get back at his friend once this nightmare was over, but right now, he had to meet (and tolerate) someone named Lombre Raindish.

Finally, he arrived in front of Chandelure's tent. The area was already pretty much empty - all the other pairings must have gone somewhere else. Even Lopunny had gone inside. The only Pokémon there was a lone Lombre, sitting on a bench in front of the tent facing away from him. She was wearing a skull-patterned bandanna and combat boots. This, Rem thought, must be Lombre Raindish.

He hurried over.

"Huff, puff... Sorry... I'm late."

Lombre stood up from the bench with a little start and turned around to face him.

After that, Rem would have loved to tell her why he was late (and that it wasn't his fault), but she'd beaten him to it before he could.

"Caramba, I've been waiting for you!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Where've you been? I thought you'd totally chickened out and decided not to come after all because of some weird reason."

"Yeah, nice you meet you too," Rem mumbled.

"Why're you late, anyway?"

"Well," Rem said nonchalantly, "it was because I'd only known I was even in the Meteor Mash-up just, oh, I dunno, half an hour ago?"

Lombre turned to him. "What?"

"This wasn't my idea in the first place," Rem said, his face red. "I didn't sign up for this, OK?"

She glanced at him quizzically. "Then why...?"

Rem huffed and turned away, feeling pathetic. Then he mumbled under his breath, "...My friend signed me up."

There was a moment of silence...

...And then Lombre burst out laughing!

"Ay-ay-ay-ay-ay!" she guwaffed. "Dear lord Arceus, that's the best prank I've ever heard of! I gotta meet that friend of yours. I have a feeling he's _un muchacho bueno._ A good guy."

"He is _not,_" Rem said pointedly. "And I swear I'm gonna get even with him once this is over."

But Lombre didn't hear him as she was too busy laughing her bandanna-wrapped head off.

After what seemed like forever, Lombre's laughter subsided a little and she went on thoughtfully, "I should've pulled that prank on Treecko. I kinda pushed him to participate in this, but it would've been funnier if I'd simply signed him up without him knowing. Huh, why didn't I think of that?"

Rem glared at her.

"Don't you dare," he snapped. "Have some pity towards your Treecko friend. Trust me, it sucks."

Lombre sneered at him. "Of course it does. Isn't that the whole point?" She shook her head. "Anyway, I don't think I've introduced myself properly. _Me llamo_ Lombre Raindish. My name's Lombre Raindish." She extended a hand.

"I'm Rem," the Whimsicott said shortly, shaking her hand. Then he lapsed into silence.

So it was Lombre who asked, "Uh, what do you want to do now?"

Rem shrugged. "Eh, up to you."

Lombre thought for a moment, then suddenly grinned a meaningful grin. "Lopunny said you liked cooking. Plot twist: I like cooking too. My teammates always say that I cook the best quesadillas anywhere and they're practically addicted to them," she said, her grin getting wider and wider. "So, want to have a Cofagrigus' Cake Contraption face-off? Don't worry, I'll make sure to go easy on you."

At first, Rem hadn't been listening that well and only shrugged. "OK, we'll play Cofagrigus' Cake Contraption if it's-"

He paused when the total weight of her words sank in. Then he glared at her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there _Señorita._ Are you saying you're _better_ than me at cooking?"

Lombre looked smug. "What do you think, _mi compadre?_"

Rem's face went red. OK. First, his friend had signed him up for something he really didn't like. And now, he was stuck with this annoying combat boots-wearing girl named Lombre Raindish. It was high time something went his way today, and besides, Rem loved nothing more than a good competition.

"Bring it on," he said.

* * *

_Pairing 8: Rem x Lombre is finally kicking off. They may think the other is annoying now, but we'll see how it will develop._

_"What do you think, Wish Park FM listeners?" Lopunny would have asked. "How do you think this pairing will end up?" ^^_

* * *

OK, we do know that Hypno and Snivy were going to go to the Arbor Area, but that doesn't mean they were going to go straight there. They decided to go the long way around, walking through the Power, Cake, and Flight Zones of Wish Park before returning to the Dance Zone to hop through the poster portal. Then they'd end up directly in the Arbor Area.

But why did they take the long way around?

Because both Hypno and Snivy liked to chat, that's why.

First, Snivy was interested in Hypno's pendulum and asked about the subject of hypnotism. Fortunately, Hypno wasn't only interested in the actual hypnotizing, but also in the anatomical and psychological side of it (unlike Staraptor). That being said, he spent the whole walk through the Cake and Flight Zones talking about it, and Snivy didn't mind at all. They even stopped for a moment in the Power Zone because Hypno was going to show Snivy how to hypnotize people.

"Oh, yeah. Real hypnotizing, that I gotta see." The grass snake's eyes were wide.

Hypno stared at her and chuckled with amusement. "OK, I'll gladly show you. But who should we hypnotize? I can't hypnotize _you;_ you won't get to see a thing."

Snivy looked around but unfortunately, the only Pokémon there were random Pokémon. They couldn't hypnotize someone they didn't know because he might mistake their innocent intentions for something criminal.

She was about to turn back to Hypno with disappointment when she suddenly saw someone she did know.

"Hey, Breloom!" she raised her voice. "Breloom, can you come over here for a minute?"

...

* * *

_Well, looks like Hypno and Snivy have finally found a hypnotist target. We'll see soon enough how it turns out - is Hypno really _that_ good? Maybe his talent in hypnotism is what makes Darwin fall for him..._

_Anyway, Pairing 10: Hypno x Snivy is going really well! It's a good thing both are passionate about learning and gaining new knowledge, like Snivy with Hypno's hypnotism and Hypno with Snivy's big adventure._

* * *

...

Breloom and Braixen were about to enter Haxorus' dojo in the Power Zone when Breloom heard someone call his name. He looked around and saw Snivy and Hypno standing a few meters away.

He was still holding Braixen's hand when he bounded over so that meant Braixen was back to following him and stumbling and letting out exclamations about her messy fur.

"Hey there!" Breloom greeted Hypno and Snivy. "What's up?"

"Hypno's going to show me how to hypnotize someone with a pendulum," Snivy explained. "Would one of you two like to be the volunteer?" She looked back and forth between Breloom and Braixen.

"Yikes! Hypnotized? You mean in which we'll be unconscious and ultimately under your control?" Braixen looked horrified and stepped back. "No, thanks! That sounds scary!"

"Hah!" Breloom snorted. "There ain't anything scary about being hypnotized. It's just like falling asleep for a little while, that's all."

Braixen looked indignantly at him. "In that case, why don't _you_ try it?"

"Gladly!" Breloom said coolly.

Snivy and Hypno exchanged meaningful glances. "Great!" Snivy exclaimed. "OK, Hypno. I'd like to see what you can do!"

Hypno stepped in front of Breloom. "I want you to follow the movement of my pendulum with your eyes," he started, his voice suddenly getting deep and eerie.

"OK," Breloom said lightly.

Hypno began to swing it right and left. "OK, there is nothing to worry about because this will be over quickly," he went on. "But you're getting a little bit sleepy... In fact, you feel like you want to go to sleep, like, right now. And that's what I want you to do. You're very, very sleepy... Your eyelids cannot stay open much longer... You're slowly falling asleep..."

Breloom's eyes were slowly but surely closing, and when Hypno suddenly snapped his fingers, he practically collapsed onto the ground snoring like a baby T-rex.

"Waah!" Braixen gasped in surprise. "He fell asleep!"

"Huh. That was pretty cool," even hard-to-please Snivy had to admit.

"I think he looks rather cute like this," Braixen suddenly added. "He looks like a sleeping baby Litleo."

"Aww. A cute sleeping baby Litleo, is it," Snivy teased, shooting meaningful looks at Braixen, who just realized the full weight of her words.

"I didn't mean it _that_ way," she huffed quickly, folding her arms in front of her.

Snivy smirked at her before staring back at the sleeping Breloom. "What else can you make him do besides snore our ears off?" she asked Hypno.

"Can you tell him to imitate a Torchic?" Braixen piped up.

"Sure." To Breloom, Hypno said, "Now you are a Torchic."

Instantly, the Mushroom Pokémon jumped up and began to flap his arms like wings and peck at the ground, squeaking, "Torhic! Chic chic chic torchic!"

Braixen laughed. "Nice one!"

"Can you make him say stuff?" Snivy asked.

"Sure you can," Hypno replied. "Just tell me what you want him to say."

Snivy told it to Hypno, and he turned to Breloom again while repeating Snivy's phrase.

Breloom stopped acting like a chicken and in a really flat voice droned, "Snivy is the coolest, most badass Pokémon in the whole wide world and is unbeatable by anyone, not even by myself and Oshawott."

"And Darkrai," Snivy added as an afterthought. Hypno repeated this.

"And Darkrai," Breloom droned.

Braixen had been giggling, but now realized that people in the Power Zone were beginning to give strange looks in their direction. They'd obviously never seen a Mushroom Pokémon act like a Torchic before.

"I think we'd better put him out of his misery," she said. "People are beginning to stare."

"They're staring at Breloom, not at me," Snivy said with a frown, but she did reluctantly let Hypno wake him up with a simple snap of his fingers.

Breloom blinked and shook his head. "Uh... What?"

"How does being hypnotized feel?" Hypno asked.

The whole thing came back to Breloom's memory and he stuck his nose in the air. "I was right. It was exactly like having a little nap."

"Yeah," Snivy agreed with an annoying smile, "a little nap in which you acted like a Torchic, snored like a little baby Litleo and said 'Snivy is the coolest, most badass Pokémon in the whole wide world and is unbeatable by anyone, not even by myself and Oshawott. And Darkrai'."

"Wait. What?" Breloom began to notice that practically everyone there was staring at him strangely. "Wait, what exactly did I say?"

"Come on, I'll tell you all about it in Haxorus' dojo." Braixen tugged on his arm as if she was impatient to go. Maybe she was afraid that Snivy would tell him that she'd said he looked "cute like a sleeping baby Litleo". No way was she going to let Breloom know she'd said that.

"Huh, OK. Whatever ya say." Breloom still looked blank as a red-faced Braixen carted him away.

Snivy snickered as she watched them go. "Those two," she said with a chuckle.

"Come on, we'd better be going, too," Hypno said. "You did say we were going to see the Arbor Area."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't forget." Snivy nodded. "Let's go, then!"

* * *

_...Aww. Cute like a sleeping baby Litleo, huh?_

_Like Oshawott x Lizzy and Hypno x Snivy, Pairing 1: Breloom x Braixen is also going rather well, Lopunny is happy to say! After this they're going to play Haxorus' Power Bash, and we can only wait and see how that'll turn out!_

_Once again: Aww! Lopunny can't stop fangirling._


	6. Chapter 6

_Make way for the second update!_

_Update #2: Nile x Cleffy, Tepig x Darwin, Staraptor x Tori, Gremlin x Froslass._

* * *

**~ Meteor Mashed! ~**

Nile and Cleffy were walking in the Crag Area. They had popped out of the poster portal in the Power Zone and appeared there. Unlike Hypno and Snivy, Nile and Cleffy didn't have any fixed destinations so they found themselves simply wandering around.

"Why did you participate in the Meteor Mash-up, Cleffy?" Nile asked.

Cleffy didn't know what to say. Nile may have asked that out of simple curiosity, but Cleffy couldn't help but wonder if it was because he'd noticed how nervous she was, and was wondering why she'd signed up if she wasn't that type of person who was eager to meet new people.

So, yeah. When she told Roselio she was participating to meet new people when they first came to Wish Park was a big lie. Truthfully, Cleffy was like Darwin - she was actually hoping to get paired up with a certain someone.

But of course she couldn't say that to Nile, or she might hurt his feelings.

"Uh, I just thought it w-would be f-fun," Cleffy said, immediately feeling bad for lying. "Besides, all m-my teammates all are for the idea and are p-participating."

Another lie. Treecko wasn't exactly "all for the idea".

Nile smiled. "Yeah, that's why I participated, too," he said, ignoring the silence that had ensued before Cleffy answered. Cleffy could actually believe him, because Nile really did seem like one of those who were enthusiastic when it comes to meeting people he'd never seen before.

Cleffy sighed. Compared to Nile, she was hopeless at this.

Eventually they wandered into the caves that led out of the Crag Area.

"It's r-really h-h-hot here," Cleffy stammered. She was right; the caves were humid and, to make it worse, treacherous because the pathways were made of rock surrounded by lava pools.

"I w-wonder why no one ever thought of c-covering them up," Cleffy went on as she stared cautiously at the pools of steaming red liquid. "Th-they are d-d-dangerous!"

"Maybe people thought they were beautiful and would make a good tourist attraction," Nile said.

"Th-the only tourists who would go h-here are t-tourists who aren't s-scared of getting f-fried," Cleffy said sarcastically. She had no intention whatsoever to joke, but Nile laughed at her sarcasm. The sound was soothing that Cleffy found herself chuckling too, albeit still rather shyly.

"Anyway," Nile said, "be careful of the wild Pokémon here. I think they're rather cranky." He was referring to the group of Swoobat living in the cave. Although most of them were hanging upside down and clinging to the rocky ceiling, some could be seen flying. They screeched at any Pokémon who got too near.

"O-oh, g-great."

Nile turned to her. "Want to go back?"

Cleffy paused. She did want to go back, but she didn't want to seem like a total loser. Besides, there wasn't anything to do in the Crag Area anyway except for the Battle Tournament (and Cleffy was even more loath to participate in that) so they really needed to go out of the Crag Area. Unfortunately, the only way out was through this cave.

"N-no, I'm fine," Cleffy said quickly.

"OK, if you say so." Nile was now climbing up a set of stone stairs, then extended a hand to help Cleffy up. She took it and climbed up the stairs, only daring to look at the ground since she could practically feel her cheeks heating up.

The plateau they were now on was even bumpier than the one below. It was practically littered with stones and small rocks.

That was when disaster struck, for it was one of these rocks that clumsy Cleffy tripped over...

...And almost crashed into a group of Swoobat eating berries on the ground.

The surprised Swoobat immediately took to the skies with a series of indignant shrieks, and the next second they were flapping their big leathery wings and heading straight for her!

* * *

_Yikes! If Lopunny was fangirling earlier, she's now cowering with fear. She has once accidentally angered a Swoobat in that very cave, and she doesn't hesitate to say that it was an experience she wouldn't like to go through again._

_Ignoring that fact, though, Pairing 6: Nile x Cleffy is going... well...? But of course it would be much, much better if Cleffy could get over her shyness, and her disappointment of not getting paired up with that certain someone!_

_(Who is that certain someone, anyway? Well, Lopunny doesn't seem to know that either, sorry. ^^")_

_Anyway... Cleffy's a rescue team Pokémon, supposedly used to a life of danger and risks. So she should be able to handle herself in front of an angry group of Swoobat._

_...Right?_

* * *

Now we look at the so far most disastrous pairing in this Meteor Mash-up! We had left off where Tepig called Darwin by the name Darwynette, which, as you can imagine, totally annoyed our Roserade. After that, Darwin had huffed and stormed away, leaving Tepig stupefied as to what he had done wrong. After all, he didn't know that Darwin didn't like to be called Darwynette, so it wasn't really his fault. Poor Tepig.

Now, he was watching open-mouthed at the vanishing figure of Darwin.

The next second, he was chasing after her.

_Great. The person I'm supposed to spend time with hates me._

"Darwin! Wait up!" he called. "Please wait. I'm sorry. I didn't know you didn't like to be called by your real name!"

Darwin finally stopped so abruptly that Tepig almost crashed into her. She turned around, and the fire pig saw that her face was still as bitter as a stormy night.

"Darwynette sounds like the name of some French queen in my history book who got beheaded, OK?" she repeated what she'd earlier said to Altaria. "That's why I don't like that name and whoever calls me by that name." As an afterthought she added, "Except for Hypno."

"Well, I'm really sorry," Tepig said breathlessly. "I didn't know."

"Yeah. Don't worry, I forgive you," Darwin replied coolly. "It must be because that little brother of mine has never told you anything, right?" She turned and started to walk away.

Tepig blinked. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Darwin turned around a few paces away.

"I'm going to look for Hypno," she said. Then she turned and began to walk away again.

Tepig simply stared at her, dejected. He'd completely failed. Even Oshawott had gotten to a nicer start than him, and Oshawott was more often than not annoying.

"I'm sorry," he called again.

"Don't worry. I forgive you. It isn't your fault," Darwin called back. But she didn't come back.

Tepig was unsure whether or not to follow her. Even if he wasn't good at things like this, he did know that girls didn't like to be followed and bugged whenever they were upset. It was probably better to leave her alone.

He actually couldn't understand her. He'd only _called her by the wrong name,_ for Arceus' sake. He thought she was rather overreacting.

...Or maybe there was something about this Hypno guy?

Maybe Darwin had actually hoped to get paired up with Hypno? That would explain why she was already so disappointed in the first place. Then to make things worse, he'd called her by the wrong name. It was a whopping combo that annoyed Darwin.

In the end, he simply called, "Please come back when you feel better. I'd love to start over."

"Yeah. I'll come back later," Darwin replied unconvincingly.

And that was how he found himself taking over the part of Lombre.

Sitting alone on the bench in front of Chandelure's grand tent, unsure and waiting.

* * *

_Aah! Lopunny feels positively heartbroken. Things have taken a more dramatic but disastrous turn for Pairing 9: Tepig x Darwin. Poor innocent Tepig doesn't know what hit him, and he just can't win. As for Darwin, she's an ambitious (or is that over-ambitious?) Roserade shooting for the moon (aka. Hypno), and she is not about to settle down with landing among the stars._

_Hmm, I wonder how this dramatic love story will go?_

_However, despite everything, Lopunny still can't help acting like a reality show host._

_"Is Darwin overreacting?_

_Will she come back to Tepig, and will they start over?_

_Or will Tepig be left waiting the whole time in this painful uncertainty?_

_Stay tuned on Wish Park FM, everyone!"_

* * *

Darwynette de la Verde had had enough. Yet another one who called her by her real name. How did _that_ happen? Especially when Tepig was one of Roselio's friends. She was surprised her brother never said anything about that to Tepig.

What happened to written in the stars, anyway? Why had she ended up with Tepig Pokabu instead of with Hypno? She didn't understand. Well, however, she'd soon fix that. She was going to find Hypno and make sure that grass snake hasn't done anything disastrous to her boyfriend.

Darwin was storming angrily out of the Dance Zone when she got slapped in the face with physics formulas.

...

A few minutes before Darwin took a load of physics formulas to the face, Staraptor and Tori had been flying above the Dance Zone. It had been a relatively smooth fly. However, Tori had been clutching both Staraptor's feathers and her book. She had to admit that she was scared at first since she very seldom goes flying.

However, after she had gathered enough courage to try and look down, she discovered how magical and enjoyable flying was. She could see the whole of the circus-themed Dance Zone below, decorated with twinkling multicolored lights and patterned tents, the biggest, of course, belonging to Chandelure. In the distance, she could see the dojos of the Power Zone, the futuristic neon lights of the Flight Zone, and buildings made to look like sweet treats in the Cake Zone. Her paranoid fingers finally loosened on Staraptor's feathers. Staraptor himself smiled because he could feel Tori's fear melting away.

But now, it was time to try something else.

"Ready to go a bit faster?" he asked.

"Uh... I don't know..." Tori demurred.

"Don't worry, it'll be a breeze," Staraptor assured her, and without waiting for her answer, he suddenly accelerated. Unfortunately for Tori, what Staraptor meant by "a bit" was actually quite a _lot._

"Wh-whoaaaaa!" Tori cried, practically making herself flat against Staraptor's back.

"Isn't this awesome?" Staraptor called over the whistling of the wind. "Don't you just love fast-flying? Next we're going to try something even better: aerial acrobatics! The first thing we're going to do is a loop-the-loop!"

"A loop-the-loop?" Tori cried out. She hoped her glasses wouldn't fall off.

"Hang on tight!" Staraptor exclaimed, and he suddenly did a high-speed 360 degree loop in mid-air. Tori felt her stomach get flipped before it was normal again in a split second.

Well. Maybe "normal" isn't the right word, either, because the next moment Staraptor saw something that made him frown deeply.

"Errm, Tori, would you explain to me why I just saw a bunch of relativity formulas float past...?"

"It's my book!" Tori cried, struggling to be heard over the wind. "You see, it's technically not a book; it's still a manuscript."

Staraptor's eyes widened. "...No."

"Yes. So it hasn't been published yet, and I've only tied them together with a cord..."

"No."

"Yes. The pages sort of... You know... Got scattered."

Staraptor groaned. "Hold on!"

He did a sudden drop, going after the page from Tori's manuscript. Tori was back to clutching his feathers tightly, her white skirt fluttering. When Staraptor finally got to the particular page, he grabbed it with his talons.

"Got it!"

"Great," Tori said breathlessly. "Now we've only got thirteen pages left to catch."

"_What?!_"

"Yeah," Tori replied shortly. "Approximately, I've missed thirteen pages from my manuscript..."

Her statement was proven right when another page floated right past Staraptor's line of vision, this time containing formulas on static electricity.

* * *

_Ah. There's nothing like going fast-flying and getting a load of Physics formulas to the face. Staraptor and Tori are going to have to zip around quickly if they hope to recover all of the lost pages, though. And, of course, there's one page that flew right into Darwin's face, and Staraptor and Tori need to hurry and get it before the grumpy Roserade decides to throw it away, or, even worse, to use it as a tissue to blow her nose into._

_Or something._

_Anyway, Lopunny rather likes Pairing 4: Staraptor x Tori. It's a high-flying but innocent pair that inadvertently gets into trouble. This pairing is also going quite well, Lopunny is delighted to say!_

* * *

Meanwhile, Froslass and Gremlin were silent because both of them were thinking about what to do and say next.

Gremlin thought of going into Chandelure's tent to watch the Dance Inferno, but then wondered if Froslass would like it. She didn't seem to be the type who liked to move much; maybe she liked dancing even less. Or maybe she liked to watch dancing even though she didn't like to actually dance? Was that even possible?

The only thing Gremlin knew was no, no more jokes.

Froslass, on the other hand, considered visiting Reuniclus' lab in PokéPark, then quickly dismissed the thought. _Visiting the lab? What are you, Froslass? A nerd? Gremlin is not going to enjoy visiting labs. No, he is not that type at all. _Then what should they do?

The only thing Froslass knew was that Gremlin liked jokes.

_Aha! Jokes!_

She cleared her throat. "Ahem. Gremlin, I know you like jokes."

_Oh no,_ Gremlin groaned inwardly, but didn't show any obvious signs of reluctance to talk about jokes again. He was just glad someone had decided to start a conversation. They really were in need of something to break the awkward silence, and if Froslass was going to talk about jokes again, he was just going to have to play along.

He only laughed uncertainly. "Yeah, I do like jokes."

"That is very well, since I happen to have a few of my own. May I ask for permission to recite them?"

"Of course!" Gremlin exclaimed. "And no need to be so formal, Froslass. With me you can crack as many jokes as you want!" Another uncertain laugh.

"Very well, here I go." Froslass paused. "OK, so two chemists walk into a bar."

"OK." Gremlin nodded as if he was totally following her, although he'd had a bad feeling about where this joke was going. Two _chemists?_ This was _not_ a good sign.

"The first chemist says, 'I'd like some H2O, please'."

"Uh-uh." Gremlin tried to look as interested as he could, though his heart had sunk even lower. _What kind of Pokémon would go into a bar and ask for some H2O?_

Froslass went on, "And the second chemist says, 'I'd like some H2O too."

"OK, and then?"

Froslass smiled. "The second chemist dies!" She burst out laughing (daintily).

Gremlin was speechless for a few seconds. Then he recovered and forced himself to laugh. He knew that nothing was more embarrassing than cracking a (seemingly) really funny joke and no one laughed, and if there was anything Gremlin hated, it was upsetting other people.

"Uh... Hahahahahahah! That was... funny! Hahahaha!"

OK, yeah. He was fully acting. He actually didn't understand Froslass' joke at all. And he had to admit that he was horrified by the punchline. What kind of joke ended with "the second chemist dies"?

Froslass seemed happy with his response and she smiled sweetly. "Ah, I am glad you understand my joke," she said. "I am glad we are on the same wavelength. I told Roselio and Staraptor this exact same joke, and they did not understand it. They did not know that 'H2O too' is a pun for 'H2O2', which is a substance with dangerous effects towards our body. That is why H2O2 naturally goes through metabolism in our liver, broken into water and oxygen, which have no negative effects on our body at all. So, by saying 'I'd like some H2O too', the second chemist is mistaken to be asking for H2O2, and he died upon consuming it."

Then she stopped herself. "Oh, I am sorry. It seems as if I have been rambling."

"No, it's OK." Gremlin still tried to sound upbeat. _Yikes, Froslass' jokes were so scientific that she had to explain them at the end._

"Anyway, I am glad you like chemistry jokes," Froslass went on enthusiastically, "since I happen to have another one."

Gremlin smiled weakly. "OK, shoot."

"I heard Oxygen and Potassium went dating."

"Huh?" Gremlin blinked.

"Uh... You are supposed to ask how it went," Froslass gave him a hint.

"Oh, so how did it go?" Gremlin played along.

"It went OK!" Froslass laughed again.

This time Gremlin didn't even have the strength to pretend he was laughing. This joke was even more absurd than the former.

Froslass stopped laughing. "I apologize; do you not understand it?"

"Uh..." Gremlin didn't know whether to pretend he did or just tell the truth. In the end, he decided on the latter.

"Sorry... No."

"Oh, forgive me since I was so forward as to enjoy that little joke alone." Froslass regained her cool composure. "Umm, so oxygen in the periodic table of the elements is written as O, right?"

"Uh... Right?"

"And potassium is better known as K. Put them together and what do you get? OK."

"Oh." Gremlin laughed weakly. "Right. I understand now."

"I apologize," Froslass said again.

"No, there really isn't anything to apologize for," the Sableye said quickly. "I just wish my knowledge on science was as impressive as yours, Froslass."

A tiny hint of pink crept onto her cheeks. If you hadn't been paying attention, you would have missed it. "Why, thank you, Gremlin," she said.

Then both she and the Sableye fell silent again, racking their brains and wondering what else they could do, what else they could talk about. Gremlin still had the Dance Inferno in his mind, whereas Froslass was trying to push away thoughts of the lab.

But although they were silent, the Sableye was shuffling his feet shyly, and if you looked pretty closely, you could even see that the pink blush still lingered on the Ice-type's pale cheeks.

* * *

_Lopunny has to admit that even she didn't understand Froslass' jokes earlier. Then again, she wasn't a Pokémon of science, she was a Pokémon of showbiz._

_...But Lopunny also has something else in mind. Isn't is cute how both Gremlin and Froslass are silent because they're thinking about what the other would like or not like to do? :-3_

_Or, like Darwin, maybe Lopunny's only overracting?_

_But if so, what's with the long blush, dear Froslass?_


	7. Chapter 7

_Finally, here's the third update!_

_Update #3: Treecko x Amelia and Roselio x Storm._

* * *

**~ Meteor Mashed! ~**

Treecko and Amelia had by now reached the Cake Zone. The walk there had been filled with Amelia's beautiful singing. They sat at an outdoor table of a cafe directly opposite Cofagrigus' Cake Contraption building. A Vanilluxe waitress came over to take their order.

"I'd like some tea, please," both Treecko and Amelia somehow said at the same time. They glanced at each other.

"OK, with milk or with sugar?" the Vanilluxe asked.

"Milk, please," they both said again. Another surprised exchange of glances.

Vanilluxe didn't seem to notice anything. "Please wait a moment," she said, then left.

Amelia chuckled. "Well, Treecko, it seems as if we have quite some things in common."

Treecko nodded, his expression showing amusement. "...What a coincidence."

Amelia said, "Hmm, we both like tea, and we both like it with milk, we're both the type of Pokémon of a few words... Well, the only difference is probably that you are a rescue team Pokémon and I am an ordinary Pokémon with a passion for music... Since you're a rescue team Pokémon, you must be a tough fighter. As for me, I just love singing, I guess..." She shrugged with a grin.

"Huh... About that..."

_As for me, I just love singing, I guess..._

_Amelia, you don't know this, but we're more alike than you previously thought._

"About singing... I actually, you know..."

Amelia tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Hmm? You what?"

"Yeah, you what?"

Suddenly there was a loud voice with an obvious Spanish accent. Treecko and Amelia looked up to see Lombre and a Whimsicott coming over.

"You what, Treecko?" Lombre smirked as she got closer with Rem following behind.

Treecko's face interestingly got redder than green. "N-nothing." He abruptly changed the subject. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to have a Cake Contraption face-off," Lombre replied.

Treecko rolled his eyes. "That's so you."

Lombre only grinned. "Anyway, this is Rem," she introduced the Whimsicott to her teammate and Amelia.

Amelia smiled. "Hello," she greeted pleasantly.

Treecko nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Rem returned their greetings, and Treecko in turn introduced Amelia.

Lombre looked at Amelia, impressed. "Wow, you like singing? I can sing too!"

"No, she can't," Treecko corrected. "She can scream heavy metal songs, but she can't sing. At all."

Lombre stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to the Umbreon. "Well, Amelia, maybe you could teach Treecko to use his musical skills a bit," she joked. "He relies too much on his brain and logic, I think his taste in music and his vibes are getting rusty."

Amelia laughed as Treecko huffed. "They are not."

Lombre only chuckled, then turned to Rem. "Come on, we'd better be going." To Treecko and Amelia she said, "I guess we'll see you later! _¡Adios!_"

"See you later!" Amelia called as the two walked into the gigantic cake-shaped building opposite their cafe.

Then she turned back to the wood gecko. "Lombre is your teammate, isn't she? She seems like a really fun person."

"Yes, she is," Treecko replied. "I guess she _is_ pretty fun... whenever she isn't driving you insane, which is a rare occurrence indeed."

Amelia laughed. "Well then, I hope she doesn't drive Rem insane!"

She suddenly paused as if she'd just realized something. "Oh yeah, you were about to say something before they came. What was it?"

"Oh, that."

Treecko recalled what Lombre had just said.

_He relies too much on his brain and logic, I think his taste in music and his vibes are getting rusty._

Hah, she could say that because she didn't know everything about him. Yes, Treecko is a Pokémon of many secrets. He never let anyone know everything about him. Although Breloom had been his best friend since forever, there were some things even Breloom didn't know, and that was how he liked it.

However, he somehow felt as if Amelia was the right Pokémon to whom he should reveal this particular thing he'd kept quiet about, even to his own teammates.

And the brainy, super-logical analyzing and reasoning machine with the rusty music vibes as Lombre had put it made a startling revelation.

"...I sing too."

* * *

_Take that, Lombre Raindish! The quiet and cold-as-ice Treecko Kimori actually has a soft spot for singing, just like Amelia. Treecko's right, they do have more things in common than they previously thought._

_Lopunny is excited just thinking about what Pairing 2: Treecko x Amelia will turn out to be once they've discovered that they both sing._

_One thing's for sure: it's bound to be some kind of musical!_

* * *

...

"Is this wide and empty enough?"

Storm had to roll her eyes again. This was the fourth time Roselio had asked that already. Every time they came across a rather wide plain in the Arcane Area, the Thorn Pokémon had asked her if it was wide and empty enough to have their battle.

"No, Roselio," she had to tell him again. She pointed at the group of Lotad playing about near the pond of crystal-clear water. "There's a group of Lotad playing here. We wouldn't want them to accidentally get paralyzed or poisoned."

"Oh, yeah," he replied brightly. "Sorry, didn't see them."

So on they walked.

"How about here?" Roselio asked again once they'd come to an emptier plain.

Storm shook her head in a no-nonsense manner.

Roselio frowned and looked around. "Huh? What's wrong with this one? There aren't any Pokémon here."

"Look again," Storm said seriously, pointing at something on the ground behind him. Roselio turned and saw some Poké Balls on the ground. He frowned.

"What am I supposed to see again? I don't see anything but a bunch of Poké Balls."

"That's exactly where you're wrong," Storm corrected. "They're not Poké Balls. They're Foongus."

Roselio looked closer and saw that they were indeed Foongus camouflaged as Poké Balls, and they were looking indignantly up at him for having mistaken them as non-living things.

"Oops, sorry about that," he said sheepishly to the biggest Foongus before standing up again. "You're right, Storm. Huh, you have quite a keen eye."

Storm smiled. "Of course I do. When you've battled a lot, you'll see that noticing small details is really important."

They walked on.

Finally, Storm believed they'd found the perfect battle ground. It was quite wide, dotted with multicolored flowers and some shrubbery, and empty of Pokémon.

"Here's where we'll battle," she told Roselio. She added, "Watch out - I won't hesitate to hit you hard."

And that was how they found themselves standing opposite each other, about to start the battle. Storm was the one who started it by shouting, "Ready, set... BATTLE!"

The first move Storm used was Agility. She always does that first so she'd get a speed boost throughout the battle. It was a simple but highly effective strategy - due to her boosted speed, she was able to move again.

"Volt Tackle!" she shouted, running forward as her fur glowed a menacing yellow and electricity began to leap out of her cheeks.

Roselio seemed to have no intention to move, for he just stood there as Storm came closer and closer.

And suddenly, just as Storm was about to hit, he moved. Being the extremely lightweight Pokémon he is, he simply somersaulted above the Pikachu, landing perfectly behind her. At the same time, he whipped out one of his vines from inside his rose. It shot out and coiled itself around Storm's right arm.

Storm knew that the vine was poisonous. She had to get it off quickly or he might poison her. Suddenly, she got an idea on how she could use it to her advantage instead. It wasn't surprising, really - when you've been battling pretty much your whole life, you'd get strategies like this in a split second.

She grabbed his vine and began to pull it towards her, as if she was reeling in fish from a river. At the same time, she got another Volt Tackle ready.

As she pulled his vine, Roselio automatically got pulled to her also with a surprised gasp. At the same time, she was running towards him, her fur once more glowing with electricity.

"Volt Tackle!" she shouted.

This time, it was a real Volt Tackle, and it was a powerful Volt Tackle, too. There was a flash and an epic crackle of electricity and the next moment the Thorn Pokémon was landing painfully on the ground with a thud.

"Crap," he grunted as he sat up, a few petals floating out of his roses. "You hit hard, don't you."

"Told you so." Storm smiled.

It was so, but the battle wasn't over yet. Roselio started with a Petal Dance, trying harder now that Storm had dared ruin his prized roses. He spun and spun like a spinning top that he almost, _almost_ made Storm dizzy. Petals began to get scattered everywhere, surrounding Storm.

Storm was getting a Thunderbolt ready should she need to blast these petals away.

However, the petals never did anything.

They didn't seem to be doing anything but float down to the ground like ordinary petals. The only thing they were doing was obscure her...

_Wait._

That was exactly what Roselio wanted, Storm suddenly realized. The petals weren't for attacking; they only acted as a cover-up, so she wouldn't see what he was actually going to do.

But by the time the realization came, it was already too late, for Roselio suddenly emerged through his curtain of petals, both of his vine whips fully extracted.

Storm got hit head-on by a barrage of Poison Jabs. The hits were powerful for a small Pokémon, and she was sent reeling back and gasping, trying to catch her breath.

As the last of the red and blue petals floated to the ground, she saw the Thorn Pokémon jump back and land perfectly. He spun with his roses in the air, shaking them like a pair of red and blue maracas.

Storm stayed put for a moment warily, getting ready to dodge his next attack...

...Which, surprisingly, never came.

Feeling rather exasperated at herself for having been tricked by something like that, she decided to charge with another attack. She fired up another Volt Tackle as she ran towards him with a battle whoop. As she did so, she felt something prick her foot, but took no notice of that. Perhaps it was only a fallen twig.

Her Volt Tackle hit hard, slamming him to the ground again. This time, Storm took no chances. Thanks to her increased speed, she was able to attack him with tackle before he could even prepare his next attack. For the second - or was it third? - time, Roselio landed hard on the ground again, bruising himself and ruining his roses even more.

Storm breathlessly jumped back with satisfaction, watching as the Grass-type slowly (and painfully, it seemed) picked himself up.

She wouldn't admit it, of course, but for some reason she herself felt tired already, which was strange. She could usually endure even very long battles. Her breathing came in short rags.

Roselio finally managed to get back on his feet although he did seem rather dazed, and for some reason he was smiling at Storm.

"Perhaps you would like to check your foot and arm," he suggested.

Storm froze and looked down.

_...He spun with his roses in the air, shaking them like a pair of red and blue maracas._

_...As she did so, she felt something prick her foot..._

Upon closer inspection, she saw a tiny purple barb stuck to her skin.

Storm's eyes widened.

_Toxic Spikes_.

So that was why she'd felt unusually tired. She'd already been poisoned; her health had already been steadily decreasing.

Now she checked her arm.

_...he whipped out one of his vines from inside his rose. It shot out and coiled itself around Storm's right arm..._

At first she didn't see anything, but after she'd looked a bit closer, she saw that her arm was dotted with green tendrils.

_Leech Seed._

She looked up and stared at Roselio. The Thorn Pokémon somehow looked much fresher... Which was surprising, considering the many times Storm had slammed him to the ground.

It was, Storm suddenly realized, because of Leech Seed. That was why he could recover so quickly, and also why Storm got tired as quickly, too. He'd been sapping her energy.

Now he laughed off his bruises lightly, but was at the same time wincing. "Wow, Storm. Your hits are really powerful. I feel totally beat up. I'm not surprised your hobby is battling."

Another thing Storm learned about Roselio today. He may not seem strong at all, but he was definitely the come-back-from-behind type of fighter. She guessed people underestimate him a lot, but was certain they eventually paid the price.

That, and the fact that he was always so happy-go-lucky. He obviously saw laughter as the best medicine.

Storm looked at him, but the way she did was somehow different.

"You're not too bad yourself," she said.

* * *

_Would it look strange if Lopunny came with pom-poms? Of course she isn't particularly rooting for anyone in that battle, but she thinks it'll be more fun to watch while waving pom-poms around._

_Anyway, Pairing 5: Roselio x Storm is progressing rather differently (or should Lopunny say violently?)... But rather nicely, too. Lopunny has a feeling that the battle will teach both Roselio and Storm new things. For Roselio, that girls can and do pack quite a punch, especially no-nonsense ones like Storm (and that he should also try being more serious for once). For Storm, that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Just because someone wears a cute red bowtie, speaks fluent French, and is prissy about his roses doesn't mean he's a weakling, right?_

_Well, the battle isn't over yet and none of them is obviously going to back down this easily, so Roselio can certainly expect more bruises coming his way. ^_^"_

_Again, stay tuned on Wish Park FM~!_


End file.
